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The intention was to simplify things in his first season on the job. But now first-year head coach Chip Kelly is starting to worry that scripting out his team's first 425 plays could backfire.

"There is uncertainty when a new coach takes over so I wanted to get past that," said Kelly, the new head coach at Oregon. "From the first day of spring practice, I've been drilling these opening 425 plays into my players. And they know them to perfection."

While many coaches script the opening plays of a game, Kelly took it a step farther — a step that led to some awkward scenarios in the team's season-opening loss.

"The goal line dive play we ran late in the game on that 3rd-and-long we needed to pick up wasn't ideal," said Kelly. "It was in the script. We got three hard-fought yards. But we needed nine. There was nothing I could do. It is regrettable. But, if you think about it, I don't think we would have been behind at all had we not punted on 2nd-and-goal at the two back in the second quarter."

That scripted play took almost guaranteed Oregon points off the board. It also allowed Boise State to pick up 18 yards to the 20 when the punted sailed easily through the end zone.

"It was our first game. There are going to be some growing pains regardless of the script," said Kelly.

With that lesson learned, Kelly says he will tweak things going forward.

"The offense was executing things perfectly," he said. "The situations just weren't always the best. We need to start putting them in better spots on the field. So next game we will script our defensive plays, too. I'm thinking a weak-side blitz on the 11th play of the game will be perfect."

Jagodzinski [jag-o-zin-ski, dum-ass, mor-on]

verb

1. to lose a stable job while carelessly and publicly seeking another job, only to eventually lose the job you moved to, leaving you without any job at all.

Jobless, his life in shambles and with no way to pay his bills, Jeff chided himself for engaging in such careless jagodzinski.

noun

2. any person who engages in jagodzinski.

That guy can't keep a job. He's a total jagodzinski.

Picture: Your typical jagodzinski looks a lot like this guy, complete with that stupid grin and haircut and expanding chin area.

Every other sports media outlet has a format in which talking-head morons yell foolish, reactionary blather at each other, resulting in absolutely no cogent point other than that they are foolish, talking-head morons.

Now SportsPickle has such a format, too — Gallo Vs. Magary —pitting site founder DJ Gallo against guest columnist Drew Magary, a very fine set of morons indeed.

Today's debate … the Michigan practice time scandal.

College football may have opened play last night, but the first Saturday of action is still a day away and SportsPickle is counting down the top stories of 2009. Today: No. 1, Tim Tebow.

College football may open play tonight, but the first Saturday of action is still a couple days away and SportsPickle is counting down the top stories of 2009. Today: No. 2, Notre Dame.

In SportsPickle's "10 (or so) Questions With" series, DJ Gallo interviews people in the sports world doing interesting things.

Today's interview subject: Jeff Ecker, Associate Producer, EA Sports NCAA Football. (That means he's, like, the designer of the game. Or something.)

And, yes, these are real interviews.

Enjoy.

The 2009 college football season opens with a full slate of games this weekend and with it, all 127 of the Division I-A programs other than your favorite team embark on a pathetically easy cupcake schedule.

“Florida is ranked No. 1 to start the season, but look who they are opening with,” said Chad Gaynor, a fellow alum of your school. “It’s a joke. Charleston Southern? Please. The supposed best team in the country shouldn’t be allowed to feast on cupcakes like that. And then they have Troy followed by a whole bunch of teams from the SEC –- which is as overrated a conference as it gets.”

No. 2 Texas doesn’t have it any tougher, says Jeff Miller, who sits near you at games.

“Louisiana Monroe? Wyoming? Was the Texas Girls School for the Blind not available or what?” he said. If they want to win that way, fine – but we would never dare have a schedule that disgraceful. And I won’t even bother mentioning how lame the Big 12 has become. They play no defense in that conference anymore. It shouldn’t even be a BCS conference anymore. Texas won't even get much of a game from Texas Tech this year.”

And while No. 5 Alabama opens with No. 7 Virginia Tech,neither team gets to pretend its schedule is anything but easy.

“Alabama-Virginia Tech is nothing more than a case of them protesting too much,” said longtime tailgating neighbor Jon Gonzalez. “They both know how lame their schedules are so they ran out and scheduled each other to try to cover it up. To try to divert attention. I mean, when the toughest game on your schedule is Alabama or Virginia Tech, you’re not even trying. And, sure –- schedule it for September when you have plenty of time to overcome a loss by beating all the rest of the cupcakes on your schedule. It's pathetic.”

But at least one program has the guts to play a challenging schedule.

“We may not win the national championship this year,” you say. “But that’s because we challenge ourselves each and every week. We have pride. We have honor. We open with two I-AA teams – and I don’t have to tell you how dangerous that is in light of Appalachian State a couple years ago, am I right? Then it’s a week off before we host a team from the ever-dangerous MAC. Then a service academy –- on the road! Those kids play hard. And then our games in-conference –- and anyone with a brain knows our conference is way tougher than it gets credit for.”